August 2025

US: In response to the Trump Administration’s imposition of 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, Portland Cement Association (PCA) President and CEO Mike Ireland has released a statement.

He said “The US cement industry would like to work with the Administration to address federal laws and regulations that prevent American cement companies from increasing production, making it necessary for the US to import some 20% of its total cement consumption annually, including from Canada and Mexico.”

He added “US cement manufacturers, who provide the materials for America’s vast infrastructure and will have an essential role in helping to manifest the President’s vision of improved border and energy security, believe the right tax, regulatory and permitting environment will lead to more investments in US cement production.”

Canada and Mexico account for 27% of US cement imports, representing nearly 7% of total consumption. In 2023, the US imported 5Mt of cement from Canada and 2Mt from Mexico.

US: Construction service company Bridgesource led a community meeting to propose a cement plant in Glendale, Nevada. More than 150 people attended the meeting to discuss the project.

The proposed cement plant would occupy about 101 hectares and include a 122m preheater tower and a 137m smoke stack. Additionally, a 81 hectare plot of land is being considered for a limestone mining operation to supply the plant. The deposit is expected to sustain the plant for 70-80 years.

Bridgesource said that the site poses multiple advantages for the location of a cement plant, citing its proximity to transportation infrastructure, as well as access to natural gas from the Kern River pipeline and sufficient power supply from the national grid. The company stated that the proposal would create over 200 jobs.

India: Mahabal Cement has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a US$1.26bn investment at the Advantage Assam summit.

The investment will have several phases. The first phase will be the construction of an integrated cement plant in Assam's Dima Hasao district, followed by a ready-mix concrete plant, which will produce autoclaved aerated concrete blocks. More than 3000 jobs will reportedly be created through the investment.

Chad: Chad has been experiencing a cement shortage for several weeks, according to Tchad Infos. This has reportedly led to a rise in prices.

The Minister of Trade and Industry said "This situation is due to difficulties in supplying raw materials essential to the production of cement, in particular clinker, which must be transported by rail. Since 17 February 2025, an incident on the Camrail railway line in Cameroon has delayed deliveries. The orders, unloaded at the port of Douala due to the absence of a seafront for our country, could not be transported on time."

US: California Resources Corporation and its carbon management subsidiary, Carbon TerraVault (CTV), have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with National Cement Company of California to develop the ‘Lebec Net Zero’ project, which will produce carbon-neutral cement at National Cement’s Lebec facility in Kern County, California.

CTV will provide transportation and sequestration solutions for up to 1Mt/yr of CO₂ emissions captured from the Lebec plant. The captured CO₂ will be transported and stored in CTV’s underground storage reservoirs. The project will integrate carbon capture technology, use locally sourced biomass fuel from agricultural byproducts and produce limestone calcined clay cement (LC3).

Pending customary approvals, operations are expected to commence in 2031.

India: UltraTech Cement has projected that India’s cement demand will surpass 640Mt by the 2030 financial year, driven by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7-8% between the 2024 and 2030 financial years.

According to industry research and estimates, cement demand for the financial year ending 31 March 2024 stood at 424Mt. The growth is expected to be supported by rising infrastructure development and construction activity across the country.

Pakistan: Total cement despatches in February 2025 reached 3.6Mt, marking a 10% increase from 3.27Mt in February 2024, according to data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA).

Domestic cement sales rose by 7% year-on-year to 3.1Mt, compared to 2.9Mt in February 2024. However, growth remained below expectations following a 12% month-on-month increase in January 2025. Exports increased by 34%, rising to 0.53Mt from 0.4Mt in the same month last year. In the first eight months of the current financial year, total cement despatches, including domestic and exports, stood at 30.4Mt, a slight 0.45% decline from 30.6Mt in the previous year. Domestic despatches dropped by 6% year-on-year to 24.5Mt, while exports increased by 32% to 5.9Mt from 4.5Mt.

Philippines: The Surigao City government has expressed optimism that the planned reopening of Pacific Cement Corporation (Pacemco) will revitalise the local economy and create jobs. Pacemco ceased operations on 5 May 2014 due to financial and operational difficulties. According to the Philippines News Agency, it owed US$1.5m to the Surigao del Norte Electric Cooperative, therefore its power supply was cut. At the time, 343 workers were reportedly placed on forced leave after the company stopped operations.

The mayor of Surigao City, along with other officials, conducted an inspection of the facility and groundbreaking activities are scheduled later in March 2025.

Georgia: The government has raised the mineral extraction limit for Kartuli Cement, amending the company’s mining license under a decree issued on 28 February 2025. The revised limit now allows for the extraction of 718,415m³ of sand and gravel from the Lezhbadin mineral deposit in Khanji-Gazlo, Marneuli Municipality, until the license expires on 24 October 2025. In return for the additional 287,630m³ of extraction, Kartuli Cement paid US$151,000.

Kartuli Cement formerly operated as HeidelbergCement Georgia, and rebranded as 'Hunnewell Cement' in August 2024 following its acquisition by the Georgian Co-Investment Fund and Hunnewell Partners.

Nigeria: Dangote Cement has recorded total sales of US$2.4bn in 2024, an increase of 62% year-on-year. This was reportedly driven primarily by cement and clinker sales in Nigeria, which contributed 57% of total sales. Its pre-tax profit grew by 32% to US$489m. The company's pan-African operations also recorded strong growth with sales up by 57% to US$934m. However, total sales volume rose by only 1.6%, indicating that sales expansion was driven by higher pricing rather than volume growth.

The cost of sales rose by 64% to US$1.1bn, largely due to higher raw material and fuel expenses, which accounted for over 67% of total costs. Operating profit rose by 57% to US$767m.